Cheng² Duo

Cheng² Duo

Cello and Piano
Seasons:
Instrumentation: ,

CLICK TO GET TO KNOW CHENG² DUO: Press, Engagement Videos & More!

TOUR DATES: October 14-30, 2016 

BIOGRAPHY:

Committed to bringing classical music to 21st-century audiences through innovative programming and engaging presentations, Canadian classical pianist and cellist Silvie and Bryan Cheng have been making music together for the past 13 years. In 2011, when they were called upon to replace an injured musician for a scheduled recital in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, they officially became known as Cheng² Duo, pronounced Cheng Squared Duo. The duo’s New York debut was met with an enthusiastic full-house audience, as well as critical acclaim. New York Concert Review wrote, “The New York debut recital of Bryan and Silvie Cheng was infused with a spirit of thoughtfulness and generosity. The obvious affection between the two siblings extends beyond the familial sphere into the audience, and most importantly, into the music itself”. Following that concert, the Cheng² Duo was invited back to Weill Hall for areturn recital in 2013, which included the world premiere of a pair of new Canadian works written by the Juno award-winning composer Alexina Louie to another full house.

Named by CBC Music as one of 2015’s “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30”, the sibling duo is formed by 18-year-old cellist Bryan Cheng, a guest soloist with numerous orchestras since his debut at age 10 in Montreal under the baton of Yuli Turovsky and a top prizewinner of several national music competitions, and pianist Silvie Cheng, a recent graduate from the Manhattan School of Music in New York witha Master’s Degree in Piano Performance, and the recipient of the Roy M. Rubinstein Award for “exceptional promise in piano performance”. The Cheng² Duo’s wide-ranging repertoire for the cello and piano has brought them to present recitals and performances on three continents, in notable venues throughout North America (Canada and the US), Europe (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, and Italy), and Asia (China and South Korea). They have performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Trasimeno Music Festival, Orford Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Festival of the Sound, CAMMAC Festival, and Festival Pontiac Enchanté, and they have been featured several times on CBC Radio Two, as well as on Vermont Public Radio.

Recital highlights of 2016 include debut appearances at the Pro Musica Series in Montreal, the Friends of Port Hope Series in Port Hope, ON, and the Leith Music Festival in Leith, ON, as well as a 13-city tour throughout mainland China. Cheng² Duo’s debut album recording with the German classical label audite will also be released in October 2016. For more information, all are welcome to visit www.facebook.com/Cheng2Duo.

 


Concert Program

Colours of the World

Seven Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’,  WoO 46   Ludwig van Beethoven 

Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40                                    Dmitri Shostakovich 
Allegro non troppo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro

—Intermission—

Wild Horse Running (written for Cheng² Duo)                                        Alexina Louie (1949- )

Suite populaire espagnole                                                                       Manuel de Falla 
I. El Paño Moruno
II. Seguidilla Murciana
III. Asturiana
IV. Jota
V. Nana
VI. Canción
VII. Polo

Scherzo tarantelle, Op. 16                                                                       Henryk Wieniawski